NBA West Coast Odds: Cleveland Cavaliers at Golden State Warriors

The Golden State Warriors have won seven of its past 10 games and currently sit sixth in the Western Conference at 41-25. The Warriors are 21-10 at home this season where it will host the Cleveland Cavaliers in a game NBA oddsmakers are favoring the Warriors by 9.5 points.

Cleveland is 25-40 on the season, but remains in playoff contention in the pitiful Eastern Conference. The Hawks hold a four game lead over Cleveland in the standings, but the Cavs must also beat out Detroit and New York in the standings. Only New York is .500 or better for its past ten games, and Charlotte (7th) could still fall out of the picture as well, though the Bobcats have been playing better than the other lower half teams in the East.

The Cavs defeated Phoenix 110-101 on Wed night behind 23 points and six assists from point guard Kyrie Irving. Irving is averaging 21.5 points and 6.3 assists per game this season, but is in need of a consistent second scoring option. Luol Deng has struggled since being traded to Cleveland, and the swingman is averaging just 14.5 points per game with a below-average PER of 13.9.

Dion Waiters has made progress in his second season but is still inconsistent and not yet to the second fiddle status that management hoped he would be when he was drafted. The Cavs have a good host of role players, but the team has to get more offense out of its existing roster. Cleveland ranks 23rd in scoring (97.2 points per game), while surrendering 4.4 points more per game than it scores.

Golden State lost to another West power on Wed night (Mar 12), when the Clippers defeated it 111-98. The game was a true test to see whether the Warriors “D” has improved, and though one game is hardly a sample, the Clippers showed the Warriors to have a lot of holes still defensively. Golden State is allowing 98.7 points per game on the year (8th best in NBA) while scoring 103.5, but it remains to be seen whether Mark Jackson can make that style work in the NBA playoffs. The Warriors are a tough team on the boards and have good defensive efficiency stats, but playoff basketball is another animal and the Warriors are going to have to get tougher on defense to take down the likes of San Antonio or Oklahoma City.

CLE Trends: UNDER 4-0 in last 4 on 1 days rest; OVER 3-0-1 in last 4 when opponent allows 100 points or more in previous game; UNDER 6-0 in last 6 after scoring 100 points or more in previous game.